1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spray bottle, and more particularly to a spray bottle which is pressurized by hand and which dispenses a spray upon demand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The need for a portable hygienic device for rectal or vaginal douching, or other cleaning by spray, arises from time to time. Most known bideta are self-contained units, large and heavy, and not portable. In order to meet the need, and to take advantage of preexisting toilets or water closets, bidet accessories have been developed for attachment to preexisting toilets or plumbing systems, and possibly require connection to electrical power.
Devices, both of the bidet type and for other purposes, appear in the prior art for holding liquid and dispensing the same under pressure. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,921, issued to Harry M. Umann et al. on Sep. 7, 1971, which discloses a portable bidet having a reservoir for douching liquid and a hand pump for dispensing liquid. The pump expels that amount of liquid contained therein. Another example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,210, issued to Paul G. Alchas on Aug. 28, 1990, disclosing apparatus for dispensing parenteral fluid, including a manually pressurized reservoir.
Some prior art liquid dispensers provide increased convenience, albeit at the cost of dependence upon plumbing and electrical systems. Included in this group are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,808,608, issued to David Caplan on May 7, 1974, disclosing a portable bidet which has a powered water pump, and which sits on an adjacent environmental surface, only the liquid discharge nozzle attaching to the toilet, and 3,914,804, issued to Clarence O. Schrader et al. on Oct. 28, 1975, disclosing a bidet accessory mountable on a toilet bowl, which invention features electrically powered water pressurization and heating. Different functions, such as for douching or for an enema, can be accommodated by changing water discharge tubes which support a nozzle.
Still another example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,754, issued to Jacob Bader et al. on Apr. 7, 1981, disclosing a bidet accessory having a liquid reservoir upon which a spring biased piston bears, thus pressurizing the liquid. The reservoir is filled by attachment to a plumbing system which has sufficient pressure to fill the reservoir while pushing the piston back against the force of the spring. A manually operated valve releases liquid for spraying.
In U.K. Pat. No. 1,535,794, dated December, 1978, a sanitary washing device is presented which must be connected to hot and cold household plumbing.
To maximize the practicality of the stand-alone, self-contained type of dispenser, it is preferred not to rely on connection to a plumbing supply or to electrical power, even if the latter is in portable form, as provided by storage cells. A dispensing apparatus having these advantages is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,540, issued to Harold B. Lovitt on Mar. 24, 1992. This invention, a self-contained, hand held bidet, is pressurized in one embodiment by a hand pump.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,593, issued to Milton L. Green on Oct. 20, 1992, discloses an esophagus probe. The apparatus presented therein includes a liquid holding receptacle, a hand pump, and a wand having a discharge nozzle connected to the pump.
German Pat. Document No. 90,653, dated Jul. 5, 1895, discloses a spray apparatus for disinfectant dispensing, the apparatus including a liquid container which is partially filled with liquid, a remaining portion of the container being pressurized by compressed air delivered by a hand pump. A dispensing conduit includes a manual valve releasing pressurized liquid.
Another liquid dispenser is shown in German Pat. Document No. 311,726, dated April, 1919. Pump action bears directly on the liquid. This invention has ability to retrieve dispensed liquid, which is not of relevance to the present invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.